LAHORE: Special Assistant to Chief Minister (SACM) Punjab Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has alleged that Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) issued Rs 120 million in Daska to get the support of voters in the by-polls on Saturday.
Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Firdous Ashiq Awan claimed that her party got clear evidence of distributing Rs 120 million by PML-N in Daska to get the support of voters in the by-polls.
The special assistant said that the PML-N faced moral defeat in the Daska by-election by using money to spoil the masses. She said that defeat and victory are not matter for the PTI as the party bonds to its narrative always and ultimately achieves its objective.
Dr Firdous Ashiq criticized the returning officers for not taking action against the PML-N MNAs, activists and MPAs, who were buying votes in the Daska by-poll.
“Those who say that the PTI lost the election should know that its vote bank augmented manifold and reputation of the party is increasing as well,” she said. Dr Firdous said, “PTI is a name of movement and movement does not wind up with defeat or victory of a single seat.”
On this occasion, Senator Ejaz Chaudhry said that on February 19, the PTI won the Daska by-election and on April 10, the Election Commission and enemies of the country won it.
He said that ECP did not take notice of the code of conduct violations by the PML-N in the Daska by-poll and added that its decision depressed the PTI voters.
PTI Ali Asjad Malhi lost the hotly-contested NA-75 seat to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Nosheen Iftikhar.
According to provisional and unofficial results from all 360 polling stations, Iftikhar managed to secure 110,075 votes, whereas Malhi received 93,433.
The final tally means the PML-N won by a margin of 16,642 votes. Voter turnout remained at 43.33%. Among men, the turnout was 45.1%, while turnout among women was slightly lower at 41.2%.
In total, 214,063 votes were cast in the by-election, out of a total voter base of 494,003. Of the total votes cast, 1,702 were rejected as invalid.
The by-election was keenly watched after a by-poll in the same constituency on February 19 this year was declared void by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) due to multiple incidents of violence
The ECP had ordered re-election in NA-75. The PTI candidate challenged the ECP order in the Supreme Court, but the petition was dismissed on April 2 and the apex court ordered that the poll be held on as per schedule.
